Basketball players on the right track again, mixed young talents

Basketball players with strong year-end burst after a weak start

Last summer, Real Madrid Baloncesto went through a change: several long-time mainstays left the Euroleague record winner. French Center Vincent Poirier of Anadolu Efes, shooter Fabien Causeur moved to Olimpia Milano, while Power Forward Guerschon Yabusele to the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA. Plus, club legends Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodríguez their careers. For a long time it seemed that this bleeding and the resulting loss of quality, combined with the fact that the stars like it Mario Hezonja and Walter Tavares has been looking for the best form for a long time, because the start of the season was not only slow, but downright disastrous in the Euroleague. In their first five away games, they suffered five defeats – a negative all-time record. Then, of all places, the upheaval came to Barcelona: after their first EL away win at the end of November against arch-rivals Catalonia, of all places, coach Chus Mateo’s side went from strength to strength and he made a victory. flawless final blast in the final phase of the calendar year. Most recently, they have won three in a row in the premiership, which currently means a balanced record, which means that the Royals are back in the middle of the fight for the playoff places, which has not shown for a long time. . In the ACB domestic league, Hezonja and Company beat FC Barcelona again on Sunday night in the final match of the year and are currently third in the standings, just one win behind leaders Málaga and Valencia. . That means Spain’s record champions will once again fight for all the trophies in the new year.

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Blancas in the CL quarter-finals and looking for Barça

Unlike the men, the Royals women are still waiting for their first title in their still young club history. Overwhelming arch-rivals Barcelona repeatedly ensured Blanca could only finish as runners-up. The team around the captain Olga Carmona is currently on the right track after a summer of turmoil and, after nine wins, one draw and just one defeat – against Barcelona, ​​of course – is second in the Spanish league, eleven points behind Barça, although they have played two less. games. What is particularly striking is the strong defence, which, apart from the usual Clásico defeat (0:4), conceded only five goals in the other ten games. Things are also going very well for Blancas in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Melanie Leupolz and Co missed out on winning the group after an unfortunate defeat in their final group game against Chelsea, but are through to the quarter-finals – for the second time. Although the round of 16 is made up almost entirely of heavyweights, the Royals appear to have taken the next step at European level this time around and are not without a chance to enter the knockout stage.

Castilla again in the fight for relegation

If you look at the table of the third Spanish league as high, you will look in vain for Castilla in the upper regions. As in the previous year, the coach’s team Raul Gonzalez Blanco back in the relegation zone. They currently sit in 16th place with a paltry 19 points from 18 matches, just four points clear of the bottom of the table. Even if promotion wasn’t necessarily the top priority during Raúl’s sixth term, the season arguably went differently. Although the last two home games have been won, there is still no talk of a comeback as the fluctuations between home and away appearances are too great – Raúl’s side have only managed to pick up five away points so far. Castilla has been without a defensive leader for over a month. Raul Asencio The young Spaniard established himself in the professional team of the Royals. What is the chance of a lifetime for him and other young talents is a major challenge for Castilla year after year: and last summer, they lost several players from their own ranks. In addition to the usual goalkeeper Lucas Cañizares also changed Mario Martin, Nico Paz or Alvaro Rodríguez at the upper class clubs. If the reserve team’s form curve is up again after the end of the year, it will have to prove itself in the next match (January 11) when they host 14th-placed Alcoyano at the Estadio Alfredo di Stéfano.

Real Madrid C with a chance to stay in the league

Real Madrid’s third team provides young talent with a springboard to the reserve team and secured promotion to Spain’s fourth-highest league last season, where they currently compete, just one league below Castilla. While in the 2023/24 season they had both their best offense and shone in defence, down a level, they have produced less brilliant results this season. Even if the current 14th place in the table, which would mean relegation at the end of the season, is not a high point, it must be pointed out that the Blancos have suffered only six defeats in 17 games. In total, they still share points with their opponents too often – eight times in 17 games. They most recently picked up their first away win of the season with a narrow 1-0 victory at Illescas and will fight for more important points at CD Coria on January 11. To keep their class at the end of the season, the new coach’s team Alvaro Gomez-Rey finish at least in twelfth place.

Juvenil A on the right track in the league and Youth League

After the last season without a title, which followed the treble in 2023, there is a new hope this season and rightly so: the coach-led U19 team. Alvaro Arbeloa is in the División de Honor Juvenil with 13 wins, one draw and two defeats, just one point behind reigning champions Atlético. In the UEFA Youth League, the youngsters made a strong final burst in the league stage with three wins against Milan, Liverpool and Atalanta and managed to qualify for the playoffs. There they will face Borussia Dortmund on February 11 at the Estadio Alfredo di Stéfano. The young Blancos have already met BVB in the league stage and lost extremely unhappily with 1:2. In terms of personnel, this season has been a rollercoaster ride for the Blancos U19s: at the start of the season, talented centre-back Joan Martinez suffered a torn cruciate ligament during training with the first team and is expected to be out until the spring of 2025. As a result of a torn cruciate ligament, the former Real Madrid talent Marc Cucalón he even recently ended his career. On the other hand, Daniel Yanez with four goals in the Youth League and Jesús Fortea The right-back continues to be the focus of the first team’s attention thanks to his strong performances.